The normal methods for supporting a ceramic resonator in a microwave cavity are expensive to manufacture and fabricate. These methods also lead to manufacturing and production difficulties.
The typical methods are forming the support as part of the ceramic resonator, bonding the support to the ceramic, and sandwiching the ceramic in the cavity by the use of two supports. When the support is formed as a part of the ceramic resonator, the support structure is, of course, also ceramic, but is high cost and provides, at times, spurious responses, leading to problems with performance. If the support structure is bonded to the resonator, the support is often a quartz stem that is compression fit against the resonator. This process is expensive and can also affect reliability.
All of these methods provide a less than optimal solution. They are expensive and have numerous manufacturing and production deficiencies.
Accordingly, a need arises for a resonator support technique that is durable enough to withstand a useful range of operating conditions, while still being relatively economical to manufacture and install. In addition, the mounting technique should permit the resonator to be tuned with relative ease, whether through a manual or automatic approach.